Gorgon
by girl.with.many.faces
Summary: After the war, Harry was poisoned to death by his wife. He was asked if he wanted a second chance...but he wasn't given a second chance as himself. Now, more than a little crazy, Harry sets out to mess with everyone to the best of his abilities. Sirius is a little afraid of him, Dumbledore is suspicious and more than one person is having nightmares about the 'creepy blindfold kid.'
1. Chapter 1

**Another old fic of mine. I think this might have sort of been based off of the song Outer Science. You can look it up on youtube if you want. I'm sure a lot of people already know it though.**

**So, yeah. I don't own Harry Potter. At all. Really wish I did.**

The war had changed him. It was such a clichéd thing to say. War changed people and Harry knew that more than anyone. He hadn't realized how much it had changed him, however, until after he'd been poisoned to death by his own wife.

He woke up in a black void. There was only darkness, and he had no idea how long he'd been floating there, but a light slowly started to appear above him, as though someone were slowly turning up a dimmer switch.

_Your wife poisoned you._

The information entered his mind like a ghostly whisper.

_Would you like to life again?_

Was life even a verb? Harry wondered. And that was how he became certain there was something wrong with him. Of all the things to question…that really ought to have been at the bottom of his list.

He couldn't help but feel reminiscent of a video game.

**Game over**

**Would you like to play again?**

Of course, that wasn't too far off.

_Would you like to life again?_

"Why?" Harry asked dryly. He found the whole thing to be kind of stupid. Was this a god or the God talking? The thought of him being rude hadn't crossed his mind when he questioned it, he just wanted to figure out what he'd done to deserve a second change.

_You are the master of Death. You may choose to do whatever you want. Would you like to life again?_

Harry shrugged,

"Might be nice to live for a change. Sure, I'll life again. Then I'll come back here and see my mum and dad. Maybe disappoint a few people, cause some trouble…" he didn't know what he was saying and he kind of hoped the voice would stop him.

_Let the life begin._

**New Game?**

**Yes?**

**No?**

Harry woke up. Eyes open, only to find himself without any limbs.

"Shit." He said. Of course, this life would be…oh, wait. It took him a moment to realize he wasn't the only one without limbs and his tongue was forked.

"I'm a snake." Harry sighed, realizing only then that he'd been speaking parseltongue. His…he supposed they were his siblings, they couldn't speak.

"How is it you can already speak?" a much larger snake regarded him puzzledly.

Harry couldn't help but think about how beautiful she was. Her scales were a dark green, not that unusual.

"I remember my past life." Harry offered.

Well, that seemed to creep her out, Harry observed uncaringly.

"Death said I am his master and can be reborn as many times as I wish. Do you wish to kill me?"

"I kill all my children." His 'mother' hissed, "There is no food down here. None can thrive, and so…this way my children do not suffer this pain."

"Okay. Bye." Harry didn't really care, but for some reason, as his 'mother' tried to eat him, he moved to the side and swerved, then bit down on her lower lip, causing her to let out a howl.

How strange…he still had survival instincts. He tried moving around and found his movements to be oddly easy. He would get out of here…he just needed to be clever. To think.

There was water, Harry observed, looking at the surrounding underground stream. It was heading out of somewhere, and also headed towards something. With any luck…

He jumped into the stream and held his breath. He could see, though vaguely, a small hole in the wall. One which he had a feeling he could get through. He wiggled towards it and surely enough, he barely managed.

He fell off a small waterfall and into the daylight.

Down the stream, he started wriggling as best he could, until he managed his way towards shore.


	2. Chapter 2

**I still do not own Harry Potter.**

**Maybe I should publish another chapter and see if anything changes.**

There were people around. It seemed that his mother and his siblings were close to a magical reserve. Likely bread by a dark wizard, as he had started to figure out what he was. Whenever his prey met his eyes, they dropped dead. A basilisk. He ate rats and mice whenever he found them, which wasn't as pleasant as it sounded.

Here he thought being a snake would make him more okay with the idea of eating small animals. Apparently, his human side was simply too strong.

Harry found a road. A muggle road. He must have managed to make his way out of the magical sanctuary, then.

He didn't know where he was going, or what he would do in this life, but he wanted to make sure Ginny didn't wind up with even a knut of his parents' fortune. Death was too good for her, but he didn't see a way around it.

She wouldn't touch what was theirs! It didn't belong to her!

He vaguely wondered…basilisks were magical snakes…which meant they must have some magic, so maybe…

Harry focused, hoping that maybe he'd be able to control his magic a bit. He did know a few wandless spells and the disillusionment charm would be most helpful if he wanted to enter a muggle town and figure out where he was.

It must have looked odd to see a snake smile. Thankfully, anyone who might have seen was spared the sight. The charm worked.

**July 10, 1991**

Harry wondered if he might be reading the paper wrong as he looked over the shoulder of the gentleman reading the morning paper. It was a new one. He'd watched him take it off the stack. Which meant…his past self…could he be around somewhere? July tenth…he knew where he would be if that were the case. He could make it to Private Drive before his letter arrived if he was clever about this. And if nothing else, Harry was very clever.

Harry had stowed away in the backs of several vehicles heading off to Surrey. It had taken him even longer to find a car headed to Little Whining. And because he'd gone the long way on his way from Portmort to Haulston, he'd arrived on the sixteenth.

Six whole days of travel had left him tired and as he found his way to Private Drive, barely keeping up his disillusionment charm, he caught sight of a boy. Ten years old, almost younger, but looking more like an eight-year-old weeding the garden.

Something was wrong, Harry took note of his younger self puzzledly. Under the beating sun, it looked like he was severely dehydrated. His lips were cracked and blood had clotted on them. His fingers were bruised and cut as he used his bare hands to weed. It looked like…this Harry Potter was very different. Harry could remember that during his childhood, the Dursleys had at least let him wear gardening gloves, and they had never withheld water…

He decided to wait until he fully understood the situation. He saw something like a spark of magic rushing around the house.

The wards? Harry wondered, being careful as he realized he was, technically a dark creature now, so they might not react well to him.

The door opened up and Vernon Dursley bellowed,

"Boy! Get inside this instant!"

The young Harry looked up at him,

"Yes, uncle."

He could barely speak, Harry realized. Something was very wrong here…

Harry waited two days before noting that the other Harry Potter hadn't come out. He waited…and waited…finally, in the dead of night, Vernon and Petunia came out of the house carrying a large garbage bag. Harry saw movement inside and…

Shit! Were they trying to kill him? He'd suffocate!

Deciding it was time to damn the consequences, Harry snapped forwards and bit down on Vernon's leg. He didn't even have time to scream before he dropped to the ground, dead.

"Verno –" Petunia didn't even finish before she fell down to the ground as well, just as dead as her husband.

Harry made his way to the bag and carefully tore open a hole with his teeth. It was difficult getting the bag open, it took nearly fifteen minutes, no matter how hard he tried. It was just enough time to see something very bizarre. Something came out of the younger Harry's body. It looked like a ghost. A very scared ghost and then…then it was drawn towards the snake-Harry and before he knew it…all the memories of what Vernon and Petunia Dursley in this time had done to the younger Harry flooded the older Harry's mind.

Their souls had merged.

Harry didn't know how he knew that, but somehow, he did. And he knew that this timeline was very different from his own. He just needed to figure out how…

The body, Harry realized, he could still hear its breath. It was possible to use the body still…in theory, if souls could merge, bodies could too. At least with the right magic, and their magic, the basilisks and the younger Harry's were compatible and with no soul to occupy it that made the theory a reality.

He'd need blood. Blood was a great way of channeling magic, outside of using a wand. But it wasn't nearly as refine and this would take a lot of refinement.

It would be tricky…but not impossible.

He started taking the blood from Vernon's and Petunia's body and drew out some ruins. He didn't have very long to run the calculations before the sun rose and someone discovered the three bodies. The scar on the nearly dead body's forehead burst open and black goo and a wraith came out.

Well…that solved one problem. He'd actually forgotten about that…

As the sun rose, so did the body of the boy who had died the night before. He licked his lips and spoke in a very human language,

"That's more like it."

He pushed himself off the ground and decided to figure out what it was he was dealing with. He entered the house and made his way to the cupboard. There was blood on it and a letter from Hogwarts resting on the small cot.

This whole place was suspicious, he thought to himself. His relatives dying of snake bites…and him surviving.

He had no choice. He was going to have to run for it. Get as far away as possible. He packed his school bag, a hand-me-down from his cousin, with all his clothes and some necessities, then made his way to the bathroom to grab his toothbrush only to pause in front of the mirror.

His eyes were yellow and slit, like a serpent.

He had basilisk eyes. He could kill with that gaze. But, basilisk eyes could see through objects with ease, which meant…if he wanted…

He made his way down to the kitchen and grabbed a knife. He drew it over his palm, then used his blood to cast a transfiguration spell, turning the knife into a metal blind. He wrapped it around his face and clipped it into place, adjusting it to fit over the bridge of his nose.

He smiled, knowing this would work perfectly, though draw a few peculiar looks.

Then, packing himself some human food, sandwiches for the road, he ran. A plan was beginning to form in his mind, a plan that made him strangely…giddy.


	3. Chapter 3

**No such luck. I still don't own Harry Potter.**

**Boo.**

Sirius Black was sitting along in his cell. It wasn't anything unusual, of course…until he suddenly wasn't alone. A boy let out a sigh, leaning up against the wall beside him.

Sirius's eyes went wide with alarm,

"Who…What the hell?" he wondered.

The boy grinned, and this was particularly unnerving when he couldn't see his eyes for the metal blind covering them up.

"You look depressed." For some reason, Harry found the dementors didn't affect him at all. Upon experimenting, he found that his gaze certainly affected them. One of them had dropped dead upon seeing him remove his blind.

"Well…this is Azkaban." Sirius pointed out dumbly, then planted his face in his hand, "Am I hallucinating?" he wondered. This was the first time it had happened, though he doubted it was an uncommon symptom.

"Nope. I'm here, Sirius. I'm here, and I'm going to make it all better." Harry smirked, placing his hand on his shoulder, then slowly hugging him.

Sirius felt frozen, despite the warmth spreading through his body. This was just…too weird.

"See? I'm warm, so I must be real." Harry whispered, then drew away and took off his backpack, pulling out a familiar brown rat.

"Pettigrew!" Sirius snarled, trying to get at him, only for Harry to hold him out of is reach.

"Ah ah ah." Harry waved his finger in front of his face, "Death is too good for him, trust me. I want to have a bit of fun with him first." He took a wand from his back pocket then waved it over the rat, transforming him back.

The rat-man whimpered, knowing where he was.

"Dementors don't like me much, I'm afraid." Harry said, "So as long as you're around me, Siri, you'll be okay. Then, when we leave, Peter is going to get his soul sucked out, isn't that great?"

"Uh…yes?" Sirius finally managed to say, feeling shocked and a little wary of the boy…or at least he looked like a boy, Sirius wasn't so sure he was anymore…

"Until then…let's have a sleep over, shall we?"

The next day was the thirty first of July. His birthday. Harry happened to have several visitors in the early morning.

The guard came down towards their cell. A non-dementor guard. Behind him followed Dumbledore and McGonagall.

They all looked shocked and confused upon seeing Sirius, a boy with a metal blindfold, and Peter Pettigrew all in the same cell.

What was weirder was the fact that Sirius Black appeared to be playing cards with the blindfolded boy.

"Do you have any twos?" Sirius rasped.

"Go fish." The boy shook his head.

"What the bloody hell is going on here!?" The guard gapped at the, frankly, ridiculous scene.

"Finally!" Sirius exclaimed exasperatedly, "I've been trying to get your attention for ages! Why is there a kid in my cell? If Pettigrew is here, then why haven't I had a trial yet? I'm innocent, dammit!"  
There was a long pause, but it was Dumbledore who managed to break the silence,

"I came here to deliver your Hogwarts letter." The headmaster said to the boy, "It seems there was a mix-up with the mail…how did you wind up in Azkaban?"

"Hm?" The boy tilted his head to the side, "No clue."

Sirius shot him a look, not believing him for a second.

"I see." Dumbledore looked at him over his spectacles, "And what happened to your aunt and uncle?"  
"Accidentally poisoned."  
Sirius scooted away from him. The way he said that…

"How?" Dumbledore asked, voice growing grim.

"Who knows." The boy hummed, "I think it was a snake. I don't really care though, they did try to kill me. Suffocation is one of the nicer deaths, but I don't think they did it to be nice, sir."

There was another long silence before Sirius spoke this time,

"At least that makes a bit of sense. I knew there was something wrong in your head."  
"There's lots wrong in my head." Harry told Sirius with a shrug, "They liked trying to kill me. It was one of their favourite pass times. You know that you have custody of me now?"

"Me?" Sirius repeated feeling a little afraid, his voice came out as a squeak.

"Yup. So, I came to live with you. I like it here. Better than the Dursleys."

Dumbledore gave a small cough,

"Yes…Sirius does technically have custody of you…"  
"What!?" Sirius shouted.

"As long as you don't try to kill me, I think we'll get along." Harry smiled at him in what he hoped was a sweet way, "I like you. You don't try to hit me and you actually share your food with me! Playing cards is lots of fun too, and you don't hate me."  
"Kid…" Sirius said, his expression becoming stony, "You really need higher standards."

"Minerva," Dumbledore began, "Please head to the emergency floo and call the DMLE. We're going to need to organize a proper trial for Mister Pettigrew…"  
"I take it I'm letting Mister Black go?" The guard took out his key, "And…the…kid?" he said the word 'kid' like he wasn't so sure that was the proper term, but not really being able to find anything more suitable.

"Yes." Dumbledore agreed. He had the power to approve this as Chief Mugwump.

Sirius looked disbelieving a moment, before he got up. The boy got up as well after gathering his cards and putting them away in a backpack which appeared to be falling apart at the seams.

Harry then gave a small stretch, then slung his bag over his shoulder. He walked out of the cell with a content smile on his face.

The door to the cell was closed. The headmaster still looked at him warily,

"I still want to know what happened, Mister Potter."  
Sirius froze, his head whipped around to look at Harry,

"Potter?" He repeated, "No…that's not…that's not possible…"  
"Not impossible." Harry smirked, "Just a little unlikely. If you think _that's _impossible, then we're going to have _so much fun!_"

Sirius shifted warily. He never thought he'd ever be afraid of his own godson.

Harry accepted his place at Hogwarts. His custody was in Sirius's hands, but seeing as he needed to spend a bit of time at Saint Mugos, it was Remus Lupin who was given the opportunity to look after Harry, though not after apologizing to Sirius profusely for not believing he was innocent. Sirius waved it off, mostly because he felt bad about leaving his godson with him. Harry still scared him.

Remus in his relief hadn't noticed this and agreed right away, taking Harry to his apartment.

"So…" Remus looked at the boy, "Why do you wear that metal thing over your eyes."  
"If I didn't, I'd kill you." Harry answered honestly, not that Remus believed him.

"Alright then…I'd like to see them again sometime. If I recall, they were green. Your mother had eyes that same shade. James would comment on that." He didn't really know what to do with Harry, but telling him stories of his parents seemed like a good start.

It seemed he'd taken the bait.

"What were they like?"

"Well," Remus smiled, "Your mother was a very kind woman. She always stood up for other people when they were being picked on in school. She had a powerful sense of justice and she drew James to her…actually she drew a lot of boys to her when she was studying at Hogwarts. James was the only one that never gave up though, no matter how many times she rejected him. She didn't really like the attention at first. But around their sixth year, your dad grew up a bit and Lily noticed. She started to enjoy the attention a little more and by seventh year, your parents had been made head girl and head boy respectively and started going out."

Harry nodded, focusing on Remus,

"So…you were friends with my parents?"

"Yes. Your dad and I met on the train during our first year." Remus nodded, "We became close friends soon after. Sirius was the same."  
"Oh." Harry tilted his head to the side, "Why didn't you ever visit me?"

Remus grimaced,

"I thought it was for the best. I have a…condition."

Remus got the impression that Harry was looking at him, unimpressed,

"You were around when I was younger." Harry said in a voice that suggested danger, "Dad and Sirius accepted that you're a werewolf. Why can't you accept yourself?"  
Remus froze,

"How did you…" he began.

"You were placed in Gryffindor because you have the ability to overcome your fears. One visit wouldn't have killed me. But that time is gone now and you have to accept the consequences."  
Remus resisted the urge to shiver,

"What…do you mean? What consequences? What…"  
"My heart stopped beating." Harry said, "For nearly five minutes. They beat me so bad that my heart stopped. They've done it a lot of times. Tried to kill me. I'm glad they're dead now."  
With that declaration, Remus's body went cold.

"Monsters aren't men who turn into beasts when the moon is full. They're found in the hearts of people. Those people that beat children because they're different. In the loving wife who lovingly poisons her husband because she covets his wealth. In the child who strangles rabbits for fun. But you haven't actually seen any of that stuff, so you don't know." Harry pushed Remus down with an impressive bit of strength that Remus would not have expected from a child, "You don't need to prove to me that you're not a monster. I'm quite certain you're not, you're just a coward. Of course, you don't need to prove that you're not that either. You don't owe me anything, after all. I'm not _your_ kid."

Remus tried to stop himself from shaking, but he couldn't help it. Harry was scary. He was terrifying and he couldn't pinpoint why that was. Maybe it was the way he seemed to _know_ things. Maybe it was the way he smiled, revealing canines that looked a little too pointy. Maybe it was because he didn't speak like a child at all.

Or maybe it was because everything he said made sense.


	4. Chapter 4

**I was seriously surprised at how popular this fic was. Really. This one is older than Animetopoeia! I wrote a good chunk and then abandoned it when I thought it was no good.**

**I guess I'll have to write more of it. I mean, revisiting old work is really interesting. You see the places you were at before and you wonder 'what was I thinking.'**

**But I'm starting to get into it again too.**

**I do not own Harry Potter.**

**I just like writing fanfiction (^_^)**

It was a week before Sirius was released from Saint Mugos. He arrived at Remus's apartment and knocked on the door. Remus was the one who answered. He had dark bags under his bloodshot eyes and he looked a bit rattled.

"Sirius." He swallowed, "Hi."

"Hi." Sirius said, shifting a bit, "You don't look too good…"  
"Yeah?" Remus didn't know what to say other than that, "Um, Sirius, about…about Harry…I think there might be something…strange about him."  
"Well," Sirius said dryly, "They did find him in Azkaban. Why? What happened?"  
"He just…" Remus trailed off, "Nothing."

It was obviously not 'nothing.'

Sirius grimaced and ran a hand through his hair,

"Okay…"  
"Sirius!" Harry came running towards the man and wrapped his arms around his waist. He looked excited to see him, and he was.

"Harry." Sirius patted his back awkwardly.

"He…seems to like you a lot." Remus observed, feeling a twinge of jealousy, "He wouldn't even let me touch him let alone hug him…"  
Sirius looked up at him with surprise, then looked down at Harry curiously,

"Why's that, Harry?"

Harry looked up at him through his blindfold,

"I'm mad at him."

"Ah…" Sirius looked over at Remus who looked deeply hurt by this, "Why?" Sirius asked Harry, "What did Remus do?"  
"He never visited. If he had visited, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon wouldn't have hurt me as much, because that meant someone would care."

Sirius felt a sinking feeling in his stomach and he looked up at Remus and back down at Harry. He let out a sigh,

"Remus has…issues." Sirius tried to find the right word, "Sometimes when people are scared, they do stupid things. But when they aren't being malicious outright and when they do stupid things because they're afraid or not really thinking about it, I think we should forgive them. Everyone deserves to be forgiven at some point, especially when they feel really bad about what they did and want to make up for their mistakes."

Harry looked thoughtful, he hadn't thought of that.

"Okay. I won't be mad at Remus anymore."  
"Just like that?" Remus was genuinely baffled. He'd been tormenting himself all throughout the week Harry had been there, and it had been made worse with the cold way Harry spoke to him and the way he avoided hug or any form of touch from him.

"You aren't a bad person." Harry said simply, "You just made mistakes. You've been friendless and lonely for years, when I think of that, it makes me feel a little better about forgiving you."  
Remus wanted to fall over and Sirius let out an exasperated sigh,

"I'm counting that as progress." His godfather finally decided.

"Oh," Harry said, perking up, "Are you going to take me for school supplies? It sounds like fun. First year of Hogwarts. Do you think they have a Cerberus guarding the third-floor corridor?"

Sirius tried not to laugh. It was a little strange how Harry went from downright vindictive and terrifying to childish innocence. Little did he know, Harry was being dead serious.

"I doubt it, but you can check it out when you get there."

Remus eyed Harry suspiciously,

"Why the third-floor corridor?"

"I just think it would be ironic is all." Harry smiled, "They're the guardians of the underworld, no? So, wouldn't it be funny if there was a Cerberus guarding the key to immortality?"  
Sirius furrowed his brow, suddenly understanding that his comment might not have been as innocent as he'd first believed it to be, and Remus had caught it right away!

"What sort of books do they have at Flourish and Blotts?" Harry changed the subject quickly, "Do you think they have books on magical creatures? Or maybe alchemy?"

"They should…" Sirius trailed off.

"Would you buy me some? Please?" Harry pleaded with him, "It could be my birthday present."  
"Oh, right." Sirius recalled, "Your birthday was on the thirty first…wait, that was the day you were in Azkaban!"

Harry grinned,

"Well...I was hoping you wouldn't remember that, because then it would be like two presents."  
"Two?" Sirius frowned, "I haven't given you anything."  
"On my birthday I got to spend time with someone I love." Harry pointed out, "For the first time in ten years. I found you, and that was the best present ever!"

Sirius stared at him a while, then let out a sigh,

"Alright. I'll buy you some extra books on…whatever you want. But only three books." He warned, deciding he ought to set some sort of limit.

"Okay ~" Harry sang.

Sirius grimaced, he had a strange feeling that…

"My godson's going to be a Slytherin."  
Remus couldn't help but agree…he didn't want to, but he'd spend enough time to know that Harry was downright manipulative and vindictive.

"I don't want to." Harry said easily, "I think I'd like to go to Hufflepuff."  
"You're not going to Hufflepuff." Both Remus and Sirius said together.

Harry only laughed. Sometimes it was just too easy.

Shopping was enjoyable. He didn't run into Malfoy at Madam Malkin's this time, or anyone he knew for that matter. Harry hummed as he walked along. His second stop was the bookstore and he found himself picking out three books, one on Alchemy, one was a biography on Nicholas Flamel, and the other one was about magical creatures.

Sirius let out a sigh as he looked at the covers,

"Just…what exactly are you planning?"

"What makes you think I'm planning anything?" Harry asked him sweetly.

"I don't know." Sirius said slowly, "I just know that you seem to know things that no one else does, and you seem…kind of malicious and manipulative."

_Possibly a psychopath_, Sirius thought to himself, although he hated the thought that James's kid was really like that…He'd been hoping to find some good qualities in Harry, but that list was…kind of short.

"Way to be blunt." Harry said, "That kind of hurts my feelings. Kind of."

Sirius let out a sigh.

"I do feel love." Harry told him, "I love you for some reason. I don't know why, all I know is that I could never hurt you. I doubt I could even give you a scratch, even if you turned against me. Does that make you feel any better?"  
Sirius looked at him with surprise,

"I…yeah. That does, actually. Do you love anyone else?"

Harry shook his head,

"Not at the moment, no. _Maybe_ I'll come to love Remus. But it wouldn't be the same. Because I feel like he has to earn it. You don't, maybe you never did. It's the difference between conditional and unconditional love, I suppose." Harry looked up at him, "It would be nice if you stopped being afraid of me. I like making people scared of me, but having you afraid of me makes me feel weird. Stop it."  
Sirius felt a smile make its way onto his face,

"That has to be the nicest thing I've heard you say since meeting you."

"Don't tell Remus." Harry said, though Sirius could see his lips twitch.

He tussled Harry's hair, causing him to try swatting his hands away, but in vain.

The last thing they got was Harry's wand. Just like the first time it was the holly with a phoenix feather core. Sirius nearly had a heart attack when he leaned it was the brother to Voldemort's. He paid for it anyways and they soon found their way back to Sirius's place. It was a flat that Sirius had rented out for the time being.

Harry got to work looking over some of the first-year material. It was all kind of boring, what with it being…well, first year material. He then started reading up on Nicholas Flamel. He hadn't originally read all that much on him past the whole 'creator of the philosopher's stone' bit. It was at least interesting.

The magical creatures book was the one that Harry had been itching to get to. He was rather curious now about basilisks. He was, technically part basilisk, after all. It seemed rather important.

"How can you read through that thing?" Sirius asked Harry, causing him to look up from his spot on the couch.

"Hm? Oh, you mean the blindfold?" There was a long pause, "It's a fashion statement."  
"Why don't I believe you?"

Harry arrived at platform nine and three quarters on September first along with Sirius and Remus who sent him off.

"Don't kill anyone." Sirius said.

"Or hurt anyone." Remus added in.

"And I don't want any letters about kids having mental breakdowns because the 'mean blindfolded kid' kept appearing in their nightmares." Sirius said in what he hoped was a stern voice.

Harry rolled his eyes beneath his blindfold,

"You two really don't think much of me do you?"  
They nearly felt guilty. Nearly. But that almost guilt was quickly dissipated when Harry said,

"If I was going to torment children at Hogwarts there's no way I'd let myself be caught."  
"Don't do it at all!" Sirius tugged at his hair in frustration.

Harry only laughed before giving his godfather a hug and leaving on board the train.


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, so to answer some of your questions, Harry looks like he's human…but he's not. Not quite. He has a lot of basilisk characteristics. He's almost like a basilisk in human form, if you can imagine that. I imagine that he's poisonous and his bites probably would kill someone. His eyes will kill and he can't control that, thus the blindfold.**

**Again, this is a really old fic so I'm not sure I remember exactly what my younger self was thinking at the time. It's slowly coming back to me though.**

**I do not own Harry Potter!**

Harry found a compartment to himself and sat down. He wondered if he'd be meeting Ron again. He didn't really know if this was the same compartment or not…

The door opened up and a familiar girl with frizzy hair entered,

"Could we sit with you?" she asked him, "There aren't a lot of free compartments left."  
"That's fine. Come on in." He gestured. It was kind of fun, seeing them as children again. Had Neville always been that nervous?

"Come on, I don't bite…usually." He aimed a vicious, toothy grin at Neville who now looked even more uncomfortable. Hermione frowned, obviously not approving of his sense of humor.

"I'm Gorgon. That's what people call me," That was a lie, "So who are you?"  
"N-Neville." Neville introduced himself, "Neville Longbottom."  
Harry inclined his head. His first instinct was to make fun of his name…but then he remembered that he actually wanted Neville to like him.

"Hermione Granger." She frowned, then looked at his blindfold, "Are you…an actual gorgon? Your eyes…"  
"There's no such thing as gorgons." Neville said, "I mean…they're just a legend."  
"It's because I cover my eyes that I got that name." Harry added in smiling. "I have an eye condition. These help me see."  
"Oh, I see." Hermione said, feeling a bit foolish.

Harry waved it away,

"So…you hoping for any house in particular? You're obviously first years like me."  
"Um…I wouldn't mind Hufflepuff…or Gryffindor." Neville shifted.

"I'm hoping for Gryffindor." Hermione said proudly, "It's the house Albus Dumbledore was in, you know?"

Harry tilted his head to the side,

"Slytherin is the house Merlin was in. Ravenclaw was said to be the house of Morgan Le Fay. No matter where you go, you'll be somewhere someone famous went."  
Hermione flushed,

"Well…I don't want to go to Ravenclaw. It wouldn't be bad, but…there are some things more important than knowledge."

Harry shrugged,

"Maybe. You excited for your first year?"  
"Of course!" Hermione said, "I'm a muggleborn. I didn't know I was magic until I got my letter. It surprised us all, me and my parents that is. I've been practicing some of the spells from my textbook, and I've gotten them all to work so far."  
Harry hummed,

"I'm a half-blood. Don't worry too much about the curriculum work, you aren't going to be behind. Most of the purebloods are going in blind as well. Well…that's not entirely true. Thing is, the wizarding world has been isolated so long that they've developed in different sorts of ways from the muggle world. It's a bit like…going to Japan." Harry decided to give an example, "People in Japan bow instead of shaking hands, you know? They also have a special way of taking off their shoes and even eating. They don't use forks and knives as often as they use chopsticks, and if you leave your chopsticks in the bowl, it's considered insulting. A lot of purebloods don't realize their customs are so different from the ones in the muggle world, so they have a bit of a prejudice against muggleborns. Fair warning."

Hermione looked surprised, but nodded regardless,

"What do I need to know?"

"Hm? Lots of stuff, I suppose. It's better to just ask as you go along, about what's making people upset. Most hatred is created from a lack of communication. That being said, you'll come across bigots who won't care to help or understand."  
Hermione scrunched her nose,

"That's…"  
"Terrible? People are people wherever you go." Harry shrugged, "And people are generally stupid."  
Hermione opened her mouth to protest, but Harry spoke first.

"A person however, can be quite smart."

"Wait." Neville got up, looking around worriedly, "Where did Trevor go?"  
"Trevor?"  
"Your toad?" Hermione asked.

"You didn't have a toad when you came in." Harry said easily, "Don't worry. Toads are a lot like cats. They just leave and come back when they're hungry. But they always come back, especially the magical ones. Let him to his thing."  
Neville looked uncertain,

"I should find him. Uncle Algie gave him to me and…he'll be cross if he finds out I lost him."

Harry let out a sigh. Children.

"Alright, why don't you try the point me spell?"  
Hermione lit up,

"A spell?"

"Yeah." Harry said, "Just take out your wand and place it in your palm like this. I don't know what he looks like, so it won't work for me."  
Hermione mimicked the way Harry had positioned his wand.

"Now say, point me Trevor."  
Hermione tried it and her wand spun around, pointing off down the hall and out of their compartment.

"Just follow the wand." Harry waved, "I have something I need to read." He reached into his bag.

Hermione frowned disapprovingly, but…she couldn't say anything, since he had been the one to tell her about the spell to begin with.

"Let's go, Neville." She said instead, and the two headed off.

While they were gone, the snack lady came around and Harry bought some sweets for himself. He opened up his first chocolate frog card and bit off the head of the animated chocolate, looking at the card.

**Nicholas Flamel**

Harry smirked,

"How ominous."

He watched as Draco Malfoy passed by his compartment. He hardly gave him a second glance as he looked through the glass.

The train rattled on along the tracks and Hermione and Neville returned to their compartment. Neville was holding his toad.

"You found it, then." Harry wasn't surprised.

"Yes. The spell worked perfectly." Hermione beamed, apparently having forgotten her disapproval at Harry's not helping them.

He smiled slightly,

"Is that so?" His eyes wandered out the window, not that they could see where his eyes moved. He could see Hogwarts. It was a long way off yet.

"I bought treats." Harry said, "You can have some if you want."

He was already full.

After changing into their Hogwarts robes, the train came to a stop and the students started file out of the train.

Harry wound up distancing himself from Hermione and Neville as he made his way over to Hagrid who was calling over all the first years.

They made their way through the dark forest. Harry watched as the faces of the first years lit up when they first started seeing the castle.

They got into the boats resting on the shores of the Hogwarts lake. Harry got into a boat with Ron Weasley. He squinted in the dark at Harry's face,

"Are those…glasses?"

"Something like that." Harry said vaguely.

Ron looked at him strangely, then decided to ignore him for the rest of the trip.

"Duck!" Hagrid warned.

Everyone save for Harry ducked. Only Hagrid was tall enough for that to be necessary. Sometimes he forgot his own height.

They went along the stream leisurely, until they reached a rocky platform deep within the cave. The boats came to a stop and they all got off.

Hagrid led them up a flight of stairs and into the castle, opening the door to reveal Professor McGonagall who took over as their guide.

Things were going as Harry remembered them going, although McGonagall's eyes would land on him every now and then. Some people looked at him curiously, obviously drawn by the metal blind clasped around his head and keeping his eyes hidden from view.

They made their way into the small chamber across from the Great Hall where McGonagall gave her very familiar speech. Harry hardly paid any attention, though she didn't appear to notice. It was tough to notice when she couldn't see his eyes, after all.

She left them alone.

The ghosts came floating through the room, dropping some not so subtle hints to steer clear of the school poltergeist.

McGonagall came back and the ghosts quickly vanished through the opposite wall.

"We're ready for you." She said.

She ordered them to line up in rows of two and quickly led them through the now open doors of the Great Hall.  
They walked passed the sea of students dressed in black robes and towards the front by the teacher's desk which was horizontal to the rest.

Quirrell was there, Harry observed. He'd been rather wary about the differences between this world and his last world. Sometimes they were subtle, while other times they were extreme, like the degree of abuse he'd suffered at the hands of his relatives. That was probably the most blaring inconsistency. He didn't understand why Miss Figg hadn't done anything, or Dumbledore. They had been watching…or at least, they had in the last world.

They stopped at the corner of the teacher's table.

The hat, sitting on its usual three-legged stool opened up it's torn flap and began to sing.

"_Oh you may not think I'm pretty,_

_But don't judge on what you see,_

_I'll eat myself if you can find_

_A smarter hat than me._

_You can keep your bowlers black,_

_Your top hats sleek and tall,_

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_And I can cap them all._

_There's nothing hidden in your head_

_The Sorting Hat can't see,_

_So try me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave at heart,_

_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry_

_Set Gryffindors apart;_

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

_And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_if you've a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find their kind;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_You'll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folks use any means_

_To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in a flap!_

_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

The students and professor's all clapped, although Harry's applause was rather brief comparatively. When the applause died, McGonagall unrolled her parchment and explained,

"When I call your name, you will come up here to be sorted." She glanced down at her parchment, "Abbott, Hannah."  
A girl with bouncing blond pigtails made her way up to the stool and sat down. The hat wasn't on her head long before it called out,

"Hufflepuff!"  
The Hufflepuff table all clapped as Hannah got off the stool and made her way over to her new table, welcomed by her housemates.

One at a time the first years were called up. Neville went into Gryffindor after some debate. Hermione as well took a very long time, but also went to Gryffindor.

Finally, McGonagall called out,

"Potter, Harry."  
There were some whispers, but soon enough, Harry made his way up to the stool and sat down, allowing McGonagall to place the hat over his head and eyes.

_Interesting,_ the hat began.

Interesting, Harry observed the hat, it seemed to not be reading his thoughts entirely, but testing out his personality. It made sense in a weird sort of way. Anything else might be too intrusive.

The hat hummed and hawed.

_Not a bad mind, a good thirst for knowledge. There's plenty of courage…willing to make sacrifices for what you believe in…You like to mess with people's heads._

_I don't deny it._ Harry gave a small shrug.

_Right…_the hat trailed off.

_I thought about blackmailing you._ Harry hummed, _Just because I thought it would be fun, see. But…I couldn't think of any house I wanted to go to before the sorting. I did think hard on it mind you._

The hat was silent, sensing that Harry was telling the truth.

_That is…the strangest thing I have ever heard from a student during a sorting._

_Cool. I've made history. Can we get this over with? _Harry thought to the hat. The stool was making his bum numb.

The hat mumbled something, then finally,

_I've got nothing._

_Fine._ Harry rolled his eyes, _Put me in Ravenclaw. I heard they have their own private library and that people are more likely to leave me alone._

The hat gave a mental shrug, but he went with it.

"Ravenclaw!"  
Harry took the hat off his head when it became apparent that McGonagall was too stunned to do it as she'd done with the previous students.

He went off to sit at the Ravenclaw table. To be completely honest, he didn't want to go to Slytherin, being surrounded by bigoted idiots wasn't his idea of a fun time. Gryffindor was too noisy. Even in his previous life he'd thought it was too loud. Besides, he'd been in Gryffindor, going again would be repetitive.

Well, this way he could help out Luna when she came to Hogwarts at least. She really didn't deserve to be bullied.


	6. Chapter 6

**Yay! More chapters! Keep in mind, this is a ridiculously old fanfic. I'm not too sure all the information is up to date. A special thanks to enji-benji who pointed out that I didn't have any markers for scene changes. I'm going to try to fix that. Originally, my fics did have scene markers but I have no clue what happened to them. I'm trying a new tactic here to see if it works. If it doesn't, I'll try something else.**

**Hopefully, this time it will be easier to read.**

**I do not own Harry Potter.**

Harry woke up the next day in the Ravenclaw dorms. He got up, got himself ready, then went down to breakfast. He ate quickly, all the while reading his book on Nicholas Flamel. He saw Dumbledore and Snape both staring at him. Maybe that hint was a little obvious, Harry thought to himself, closing the book then making his way down to his first classes.

Their first day was mostly an introduction and theory. Flitwick fell off his stool when he came across Harry's name on the roster. He wondered how the man was handling the fact that he was in his house.

In transfiguration he pretended to get his spell wrong until the first student had managed. Then, a while later, he started slowly changing his matchstick into a needle, finishing before the end of class as he really didn't want to go through the whole thing the next day. He earned himself a rare smile from McGonagall.

Potions was on a Friday with the Hufflepuffs.

This time, Harry noticed that Snape did not pause at his name, nor call him their new 'celebrity.' He did, however, keep a close eye on him throughout the lesson. Harry was careful to go through the potion slowly, observing the other students and going at the same pace. Fumbling up on the cutting every now and then, but gaining a good result none-the-less.

He'd passed his NEWTs with an O in potions making. He'd made potions so many times as an auror that he wouldn't be surprised if he was nearly at Snape's level.

That made pretending much easier.

At the end of their lesson, Harry bottled his potion and wrote down his name, handing it in and placing the vial on his desk.

"This potion's a disgrace, Potter." Snape spat out his name, "I would have expected better from a Ravenclaw. Detention. After class."

Harry raised an eyebrow, though Snape couldn't see it through his blindfold. Harry gave a nod, deciding to play along for now.

He went off to the library until the end of classes, not having anymore of his own that day.

Then, at around four o'clock, Harry made his way back down to the potions room.

"Close the door, Potter." Snape ordered.

Harry did so, only to get his wand out immediately when Snape took out his and sent a stunner at his back. He banished a desk in front of the spell and got ready to attack, only for Snape to lower his wand and pale,

"Master. You're back?"

Harry snorted, he crossed his arms, wand hanging over the side,

"You think I'm Voldemort? You're wrong."  
Snape's eyes narrowed,

"No child could…"  
"One's first instincts are usually the right one." Harry said calmly, "What was your first instinct, Severus Snape?"

Snape paused. Voldemort did not speak like that. He wasn't calm and collected. Not anymore, at least. Harry sounded…almost mature, maybe even a bit like the headmaster, though less eccentric and round about.

"You know about the philosopher's stone." Snape accused.

"Yes, I do. Dumbledore sure does have a taste for irony. The guardian of the underworld being used to guard the key to immortality. Of course, I've no use for such things. Immortality, how laughable. One day this world will die and then what would you do? Float around in space forever? I wonder if Tom ever thought that far ahead." Harry pondered.

Now Snape knew he wasn't talking to Voldemort,

"Who are you?" he demanded, eyes narrow with suspicion, "You aren't Harry Potter."  
Harry chuckled,

"I'd never admit to something simply because someone else demands I do so. Now, then, about that first instinct of yours?"

Snape's mouth formed a stubborn line and Harry couldn't help but sigh,

"Honestly…a brave man you may be, but who would I tell, really?"  
"You could be a Death Eater." Snape said, still obviously not willing to say a word.

"I'm no follower." Harry said, "I would never swear myself to anyone. To Voldemort or Dumbledore, in case you were curious."  
Snape furrowed his brow.

"Very well," Harry said, then paused before he left, "I trust my potions is fine if that is everything." He opened the door, then left the dungeons leaving Snape very confused.

He'd been wrong about Potter…but there was still no way that he was an ordinary eleven-year-old, of that he was certain.

0000000000

Harry found another difference in this world. Instead of flying lessons with the Hufflepuffs, the Ravenclaws had them with the Slytherins. They didn't cause too much trouble, however.

"Potter."  
Harry turned in mid-air to see Draco Malfoy smirking on a broom, having approached him from behind.

"Managed to get into Ravenclaw, then? At least that's better than your parents managed with Gryffindor." He spat the last word as though it were a curse.

Harry hummed, then reached forwards, causing Malfoy to flinch,

"W-what?"

"You've a spot of dust on your robes. Quite unsightly."  
Malfoy felt suddenly wary.

"You feel threatened." Harry stated, "You should. You don't know me. You don't know my family, my strengths or weaknesses. I know that you're the son of Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Malfoy, nee Black. I know you are an only child, spoiled from the moment you were born. You admire your father and try to emulate him, but you don't really know how to do anything without threatening people with his name. In other words," Harry drew closer to him. So close that they were merely an inch apart. His shark-like grin prevented him from moving, "You're weak."

Malfoy turned tail and fled about as fast as he could. Harry hummed as he watched the boy fly away. He wondered if he'd lain it on a little thick…thinking back on his first time around, he decided he'd be fine and continued on with the lesson.

As the weeks turned into months, Harry noticed Malfoy avoiding him. From the way Snape would look at him warningly when he got too close to Harry, he guessed that the man had warned him against any interactions with him.

Harry became tense as Halloween came. Hermione was ridiculed by Ron during charms class as per the original timeline. Only this time, Harry went off to find her.

He heard her sobs in the girl's bathroom and…walked right in without a care.  
"Hey, Mione." Harry said before going to one of the stalls.

She turned around and frowned,

"Wait…this is the girl's room."  
"Eh." Harry said from inside the stall. Hermione heard a flushing sound before he came out and washed his hands in the sink.

"Most boys would get embarrassed when they walk into the girl's room." Hermione said, as though trying to get him to grasp this concept.

"Well, I came to talk to you." Harry said, "And then I figured, since I'm here…"  
Hermione furrowed her brow,

"That's…"  
"So, some boy was jealous of your skills in charms and decided to badmouth you and you came here to cry about it. Is that right?"

Hermione shifted a bit.

"Listen," Harry said, "I don't like people in general. Those people I do like, I keep them close and I'm loyal to a fault when it comes to them. Right now, that number of people I do like is at one. My godfather. A lot of people can't really tolerate me though, not when they get to know me. I like to mess with people and make them uncomfortable. I find it amusing."  
"Did you just come here to tease me, then?" Hermione frowned, obviously not at all in the mood.

Harry snorted,

"I came here to say, don't limit yourself to making friends in Gryffindor. That seems to be a misconception, but there's no rule that states you must only be friends with people in your own house. You've still got time. A lot of the kids are still trying to find their own little clicks still. Don't rush. Just do things at your own pace. Someone will come along who accepts you as you. Now, I'm here because I'm skipping transfiguration and this seemed like a good source of amusement, you, however are putting your chances at the award for perfect attendance at risk."  
"Is there such an award?" Hermione perked up.

Wow, Harry thought, if there was, she was actually willing to try for it.

"I think so." He lied, "But do you want to risk that there isn't?"

Hermione quickly fled the bathroom and Harry chuckled. That was fun. Had Hermione always been that easy to manipulate?

It was amusing, but it wasn't as fun. They were kids, after all.

He silently returned to transfiguration class after that.

000000000000000

During the Halloween feast, Quirrell came running into the Great Hall, turban askew, clothes ruffled, and face pale.

"Troll! In the dungeon! Thought you ought to know." With that announcement, the defense professor gracefully wilted to the ground.

The students started panicking, until Dumbledore stood up and made his announcement,

"Silence!" The hall went quiet, "Prefects, please lead your houses to your common rooms."  
Harry got up to join his house, following them down to the Ravenclaw dorms, but gradually falling back along the way until he rounded a corner and cast a disillusionment on himself.

His enhanced sense of heat was telling him that the troll was making its way towards the washroom Hermione had been crying in.

That hadn't changed either, Harry thought to himself. He ran down the hall, then waited for the troll. He saw it around the corner. It started to charge. As it did, Harry calmly took off his blindfold. It came off with a slight 'click.' He looked up, meeting the creature's eyes. The troll suddenly froze, then fell forwards, it's body becoming as hard as stone.

Harry breathed out a sigh,

"It's been a while since I haven't needed to wear a blindfold." He said to no one in particular, "Too bad it's so short lived." He put the metal blindfold back on, then slowly started walking away, back towards the Ravenclaw dorms.

"What…is this?" Flitwick wondered, looking at the troll with awe.

The teachers had all gathered around, stunned at what they were seeing. The troll was dead. Its body had become hard like stone.

"I-is it the killing curse?" Sprout swallowed, feeling terribly cold inside at the thought that one of her students could have…

"No." Dumbledore frowned, "In fact, I'm not sure I know of a spell that could do something like this. The troll's body has been petrified, almost turned to stone. The killing curse doesn't do something like that."  
"A dark curse of some sort?" Flitwick guessed.

"Possibly." The headmaster said slowly.

"Not one I know of." Snape added in silkily, trying to hide the pain in his leg from where the damn dog had bitten him.

Dumbledore regarded the dead creature puzzledly. It reminded him vaguely of Myrtle Warren's death when the chamber of secrets had been opened.

That was disturbing comparison.

000000000000000

News spread fast about the troll and Harry got the sense that Dumbledore and the other professors were keeping an even closer eye on him than before.

Honestly, Harry scowled to himself, if they were just a little cleverer they'd go after Quirrell. It took Harry a moment to realize how ironic that was.

In the original timeline, he, Ron and Hermione had gone after Snape simply because they thought he had a bad personality, now the teachers were doing the same to him, completely ignoring Quirrell.

He had the perfect scapegoat.

The winter holidays were fast approaching, and Quirrell hadn't tried to take his life yet as he had the first time around. It might have been a matter of convenience, the fact that he hadn't been putting himself in any danger this time around might have played a roll in it. Or perhaps, Harry himself was convenient to have around as all attention was now away from him and his own activities.

Whatever the case, the stuttering professor had a tendency to avoid him whenever possible. In the meantime, Harry went out of his way to make Quirrell uneasy, including sending him anonymous notes talking about unicorn blood and Voldemort and, of course, the philosopher's stone.

It was fun watching him jump for real or stutter without having to fake it.

When the winter holidays came, Harry boarded the Hogwarts express and got off at King's Cross. He then took a taxi to the Leaky Cauldron and flooed to his godfather's flat.

Sirius was off working, but when he got home, he was surprised to see Harry sitting on the couch reading. So much so that he actually fell backwards onto his butt.

"Oh dear, Merlin, why are you here?"

"Winter Hols." Harry shrugged, flipping through his book innocently.

"You didn't write…" Sirius trailed off weakly.

Harry pouted,

"Don't tell me you want me gone?"  
"That's not going to work on me." Sirius said dryly as Harry tried to give him the puppy dog eyes through his blindfold, "At least not while you're wearing something that covers your eyes."

Harry let out a sigh,

"You're so mean, Siri. Alright, so, what are you doing for Christmas?"

Sirius shrugged his shoulders,

"Christmas dinner with Remus."  
Harry hummed, then nodded his head,  
"That sounds okay. Looks like I'll be staying."  
Sirius let out a sigh,

"Do I want to know what you've been up to at Hogwarts?"

"I've been writing you letters." Harry pointed out.

"Yes, but they were all very vague." Sirius reminded him, "Except one which asked me how much unicorn blood a person could drink before they died."  
"That was a valid inquiry." Harry pretended to look insulted that it could be anything but.

Sirius crunched up his face with worry,

"You aren't…trying to kill someone with unicorn blood…are you?"  
Harry snorted,

"No. One of my teachers has been killing unicorns and drinking their blood. I was trying to figure out how much time he had. I think he'll probably die at the end of the year once that wraith that's possessing him leaves his body."  
Sirius just stared at him, then closed his apartment door,

"Okay. I think we need to have a talk."

Harry let out a groan,

"It's not _the _talk is it? Because I still find girls icky."

Sirius's eyebrow twitched,

"Harry, I'm trying to be serious here."  
Harry had to stop himself from quipping that 'he was Sirius' before realizing he was actually rather afraid for him. Or maybe of him.

"Look…I just want to know what's going on with you. I remember you as a baby and now…it's like you've become something I don't even recognise. It scares me."

Harry let out a sigh through his nose, then patted the cushion beside him,

"Alright. Sit down, Siri."  
Sirius moved over to sit down beside him, eyes never leaving his face.

"You're right. I'm not a normal kid." Harry admitted, "About a year ago, my relatives killed me. And, I don't mean that I died for a few seconds or anything, I mean that I was dead. I saw my mum and dad, and then, then I came back but I was in a different body. It was something like a magical ritual. All I know is that my dead body and soul were fused with the living body and soul of a young basilisk."  
Sirius looked at him strangely,

"That's not possible."

"I know." Harry said, "There's a million calculations that a person would have to go through and the side effects are all unknown. My human body was the one that was most dominant in the ritual, which meant that the reconstructed body became human but with the characteristics of a basilisk. I know," Harry said looking at Sirius's face, "That still wouldn't be possible. Not unless both souls were somehow compatible…maybe modified."

Sirius looked green and Harry looked away. He hadn't told him the full truth, but he had revealed most of it. It was a while before Sirius spoke,

"Halloween…Dumbledore wrote me. He suspects…the troll that died…you did that?"

Harry nodded.

"How?" Sirius asked.

"I took off my blindfold." Harry answered him honestly.

Sirius drew a slow breath,

"You have the eyes of a basilisk."

"I do." Harry said, looking back over at him, "I thought it would be easiest. I can sense heat and I knew where the troll was. If I let it be, it was going to go down to the hospital wing where two students were staying because they'd gotten some sort of flu. It's because of my basilisk side that I could go to Azkaban without feeling the effects of the dementors. I even killed one of them. I had no clue basilisks could do that before."  
"Wait." Sirius stopped him, "Are you saying…you came to get me from Azkaban…without knowing you wouldn't be effected by the dementors?"

"How could I have known about that?" Harry shrugged, "I've never run into a dementor before as a basilisk, and my basilisk mother has lived her life in isolation. She wouldn't have had the knowledge to pass down, even if she hadn't tried to eat me after I was born."  
"Ah…" Sirius trailed off faintly. He was starting to see Harry in a new light, sort of.

"Furthermore," Harry continued, "In order to meld two souls together, time magic plays a factor. Because of that, I have knowledge of future events…well, possible future events. That's how I knew about Wormtail and about you."

Sirius's eyes widened again,

"That's…that's why you're so smart."  
"Pretty much. It's kind of like a cheat." Harry admitted, "But I'm not going to dismiss it. You know, in one possible future I went to Gryffindor? I chose Ravenclaw though. Gryffindor seemed too loud, and that was before I was turned into a gorgon."  
"Gorgon." Sirius repeated, "There are some similarities, aren't there?"

"I'm just going to go with it." Harry decided, "It seems friendlier than half-human half-basilisk experiment. It might not be ideal, but at least I get to live passed ten."  
Sirius swallowed hard, wondering how Harry had been like before he'd been fused with some sort of creature.

"How old?" he tried to ask, "I mean, the basilisk, how old were you?"  
"Not even a year old." Harry answered honestly, "That makes me twelve."  
"Twelve?" Sirius repeated.

"Ten years as a human, a few months as a snake, and a few months as a hybrid. That's twelve." Harry paused, looking at him uncertainly, "Do you still want me?"

"Yes." Sirius said, but he still looked pretty scared. He was trying to hide it to his credit.

"That's good." Harry said, "Because you're the only person I love. I don't think I could replace you."

Sirius tussled his hair nervously as Harry hugged him.

"Good. You making any friends at school?"  
"Well…sort of." Harry shrugged, "I find most people annoying, but there's some that I can tolerate at least. Hermione Granger, a Gryffindor and her friend Neville. I don't like Draco Malfoy much, so I decided to scare him off. Oh, and Voldemort. I don't like him either."  
Sirius tried not to deadpan,

"Yeah, not a lot of people like Voldemort."

"Good to know it's not just me. By the way, Remus is sort of tolerable."  
"Really?" Sirius asked, deciding that was pretty good for Harry.

"Don't tell him I said that."


	7. Chapter 7

**I have decided to update all my stories today! Maybe I'll even post a new one. Ooh…**

**I do not own Harry Potter**

Christmas morning came and Harry woke Sirius up by barging into his room and jumping on his bed.

"Wake up!" Harry said cheerfully, "It's Christmas!"  
Sirius woke up with a groan,

"What time is it?"  
"Eight." Harry said, having waited until it was a descent hour, "Come on, come on!"

Sirius let out a moan,

"Just…get off me first."

Harry got off of him and Sirius sat up, getting out of bed wondering if all kids were like this…Harry bounced out of the room and Sirius followed after him, still in his pyjamas.

Harry started riffling through the presents. It was then that Sirius realized, he'd gotten him something but it was only…

"A journal!" Harry beamed happily.  
It took Sirius a moment to realize, he was genuinely happy about this.

"It's a two-way journal." Sirius elaborated, "So we can write each other instantly without owls."  
"This is brilliant!" Harry said, then went over to him and gave him a hug, "Thank you. Wanna open your present?"

"My present?" Sirius repeated.

Harry nodded, then pulled out a box, handing it to him. Sirius paused a moment before he opened it. Inside was a folded piece of parchment. He opened it up, but found it was blank.

"What…"  
"Sirius." Harry said, smile playing on his lips, "I found that at Hogwarts. It's yours, you lost it a long time ago, remember?"  
Sirius took a moment to think on that, before realization made its way onto his face,

"No. It can't be." He took out his wand and tapped the parchment, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."  
Surely enough, ink started appearing on the parchment, spreading out until it revealed a map of Hogwarts.

"It's…" Sirius trailed off.

"Merry Christmas, Siri." Harry gave him another hug and Sirius returned it, "I know a lot was taken from you…So I thought I'd find something that might make it a little better."  
"This is very thoughtful, Harry." Sirius's eyes still wouldn't move from the map, "But what about you? Wouldn't you want something of your father's?"  
"I've got something of his." Harry told him, "I got his cloak. Dumbledore borrowed it before he died. I took it, left him a note to tell him I took it. I'm sure he won't be too upset."

Sirius took a breath,

"Harry…I don't know what to say."

"Just say thank you." Harry rolled his eyes, "I'm no good with the heavy emotional stuff."

"Thank you." Sirius said, smiling happily.

"You're welcome."

Remus was still wary around Harry. Yet, Harry had grown oddly comfortable around Remus and enjoyed their Christmas dinner together without scaring him…too badly.

In a week's time, Harry was sent back to Hogwarts and Sirius saw him off this time, giving him a quick hug before letting him go. Their relationship had certainly improved if nothing else.

Classes started up again and things were back to their usual tenseness. The teachers continued watching Harry carefully and Quirrell was sure to avoid him whenever possible.

In spring, Harry went out to the forest late at night. It was around then that Quirrell had originally attacked him. He wanted a confrontation.

He was lucky enough (or unlucky enough) to get it late into the season and close to summer.

Harry walked through the forbidden forest, cloak covering part of his face and his eyes skewed from view.

He could feel Quirrell's warm body getting closer. Closer. Until he found the clearing. The man was crouched over a unicorn's corps.

"Fancy seeing you here." Harry's voice caused the man to turn around. He couldn't see his face, but, "I knew you were drinking unicorn blood. I suggest you remember where your loyalties lie, Quirrell."  
The wraith hissed, then started to move towards him. Harry didn't so much as flinch, slowly moving his hand up to his blindfold, only for Firenze to galop out in front of him and shoe him away. Quirrell thrust backwards, snarled, then fled, leaving the two of them alone.

"Geeze." Harry let out a sigh, "Thank you. I would have been fine on my own, however."  
The centaur looked down at him doubtfully,

"You are but a child…"  
"Not entirely." Harry shook his head, "There's a reason Dumbledore is suspicious of me, after all. I find it amusing, it seems his attention has been so focused on myself that he has become blind to what really threatens the school."  
Firenze stared at him a while, assessing him,

"And why is Dumbledore suspicious of you?"  
"My Hogwarts letter was addressed to Azkaban. I broke into prison. I know too much, and he thinks I defeated a mountain troll on Halloween."  
"Did you?" Firenze asked him curiously.

"I will neither confirm nor deny." Harry smirked, "Anyways, I should be going. I only came here to rattle Quirrell a little…oh, would you be willing to tell Dumbledore that Hagrid is keeping an illegal dragon in his hut? I'm sure he'll take care of it."  
Firenze looked surprised, but nodded,

"Why not tell him yourself?"

Harry shrugged,

"I don't care about the dragon enough to tell him about it and risk him draining information out of me. It's too much of a hassle."  
"I'll tell him." Firenze said, giving Harry an odd look.

"Thank you, Firenze." Harry turned around and moved out towards the trees.

It was only when Firenze had moved half way towards camp that he realized, he'd never told the child his name.

The baby dragon was taken care of and taken away to the Romanian reserve. Harry gave himself a pat on the back for a job well done.

Soon, it was moving in to the end of the year, after exams, Harry put on his invisibility cloak and started making his way down towards the third-floor corridor.

Surely enough, there was a harp playing music which had put the Cerberus guarding the entrance to sleep.

Harry hopped down through the trap door, taking his cloak off. He cast a simple fire spell, causing the vines to let go of him and drop him to the ground.

Harry landed on his feet, having expected the sudden fall. He walked on towards the door, then opened it an entered the next room.

Harry looked up at the key which would unlock the door. The one which was heavier than the others with slightly torn wings.

Dark snakes writhed along his skin, then one of the struck, it's fangs sinking into the metal. It lowered its self downwards, allowing Harry to take it. The shadowy snakes vanished back into his skin and Harry moved to the door, unlocking it and continuing onto the next room.

The chess set, he observed. He put his cloak on. The invisibility cloak could fool all kinds of magic, and Harry had a feeling it would be able to fool McGonagall's chess set as well. Low and behold, he was correct. The pieces didn't even try to stop him.

The next room had a toll in it. A toll which appeared to be unconscious.

The room after that was Snape's riddle, a riddle which Harry already knew the answer to. He looked it over to make sure it was the same one, then took the smallest potion on the end and drank it before walking through the flames in front of him and into a chamber.

Harry walked silently, taking his cloak off and allowing it to rest on his shoulders. He found that when he did this, he could control whether or not the cloak actually vanished his body from any eyes that happened to be observing him.

In the very depths of the chamber, Quirrell stood in front of the mirror of Erised. He was so focused that he didn't even notice Harry.

"Desire." Harry spoke, causing Quirrell to jump and turn around to look at him, "It shows us what we wish to see. The mirror."  
"Potter." Quirrell hissed, his body was tense, "You were the one who sent me those notes, weren't you? Did you think it was funny?"  
Harry smiled,

"Why do you think I did it? Of course, I thought it was funny."

Quirrell's eyes blazed,

"I have to admit, I didn't think that would be your answer."  
"What? You expected me to act all noble and say 'of course not! I did it because I was trying to draw you out' or 'because that was the best way to protect the other children' or something?" Harry chuckled, "I did it because it was fun."

Quirrell's eyes narrowed,

"What are you?"

Harry's lips twitched, but he didn't answer.

"Do you plan on stopping me from obtaining the stone?"

"I don't need to." Harry said, "You won't ever get it. I'm no fan of Dumbledore's but, I believe the mirror is a trap."  
"Explain." Quirrell demanded.

Harry raised an eyebrow, not that he could see it,

"For starters, the Mirror of Erised is an enchanted mirror. It shows a person their desire to the point where people can't even keep track of how long they've been staring at it. For example, how long would you say you've been down here?"

"A couple of minutes." Quirrell scoffed.

"It's been a day." Harry lied easily, "People have been wondering where you've been, and none have guessed…well, maybe Dumbledore has."  
"Then why hasn't he come?" Quirrell's nostrils flared.

Ah, he was falling for it, Harry observed.

"Why should he come?" Harry asked, "The stone is safe. He knows its safe having put in some special measures. And as long as you're down here, you aren't up there, harming the children. Once the kiddies are all gone, he'll come down here, have an epic battle with you, and…well, I don't actually know if that's what he's planning. Maybe he'll call the DMLE? Nah, not his style." Harry waved away.

"You know how to get the stone out." Quirrell stated.

"Hm? Of course, I do." Harry said, "Why do you think I came down here?"  
"To get the stone?" Quirrell's eyes lit with realization.

"Of course. How much chaos do you think there would be if the philosopher's stone went missing? I could care less about immortality or gold. That stuff is boring."

Quirrell stared at him a while,  
"And how much chaos do you think it would cause if Lord Voldemort were to come back?"

Harry pretended to ponder on this,

"That's very true…but I promised Sirius that I wouldn't resurrect any dark lords while I was at Hogwarts…He does get rather pouty when people die."

Quirrell's eyebrow twitched,

"And why does it matter what…Sirius wants?"

"I like Sirius."

At this point, Quirrell had started to give up understanding how Harry's brain worked.

"Let me talk to him." A voice that sounded a cross between human and serpent spoke.

"But master!" Quirrell appeared startled, "You are not strong enough!"

"I am strong enough for thisss."

Harry watched impassionedly as Quirrell reached up and started unraveling the turban around his head. It fell to the ground and in the mirror, on the back of Quirrell's head was the face of Voldemort.

Harry stared at him a while, not that he could see his full expression.

"Do you sssee?" Voldemort hissed, "Do you see what I have become? Reduced to a lowly parasite."

"Hmm…I thought you'd be taller somehow." Harry tried not to laugh.

"You find this amusing?" Voldemort's voice was seething with rage.

"Of course, I do. I already said I did." Harry added in, "You know, no one has asked me this year why I wear this." He ran his fingers over the metal blindfold, "Well, one girl asked me on board the Hogwarts Express at the beginning of the year. I told I had an eye condition. Well, it's sort of the truth." He reached up behind his blind. There was a slight 'click' as the blindfold came off. Harry's eyes remained closed, however, "Dumbledore thought that I had been the one to defeat the troll on Halloween. He was right, of course. But there was no way I was going to tell him that. Especially with what's going to happen next year. One would think, that a man who employed a Cerberus to guard the key to immortality would be familiar enough with Green mythology to have at least heard of Medusa."

"Close your eyes!" Voldemort commanded Quirrell.

Harry opened his eyes, only to find that Voldemort had not closed his own eyes. It seemed he wasn't familiar enough with basilisks to know that when looking at their eyes in a mirror, one did not die, but instead became petrified.

"Turned to stone." Harry hummed, picking up his blindfold off the ground.

He walked over to the mirror and stood in front of it. He watched as his image gave a smirk and pulled a glowing red stone from his pocket, then slowly put it back in. Harry felt a weight in his own pocket. He turned to look at Voldemort,

"If you fear death so much, perhaps it's a fitting end that you remain frozen for eternity. I'm sure Dumbledore will find you soon. I'll see you next year."

He turned around and left him and the mirror behind, bringing an end to his first year.


End file.
